Monday, September 23, 2013

(healthy) celebrity diet tricks

Always in the spotlight, celebrities are faced with the constant pressure of looking good. Often times, this can lead to unhealthy behavior by the celebrities themselves or by the people idolizing them. On the other hand, there can be some tricks that we can learn from the stars. After all, they most likely have personal trainers telling them exactly what to do to achieve a body of a god/goddess. Before we begin, let me clear one thing up. If someone tells you their diet trick is to eat whatever they want, whenever they want, they're either 1) lying or 2) on the fast-track to diabetes. Some people are blessed with an insanely fast metabolism, but just because they're skinny doesn't mean they're healthy. By the way, if you're one of those people, 97% of the population probably hates you, and by that I mean absolutely envies you.

The logic- although heavily debated, it's a common fitness rule not to eat carbs at night because it's thought to turn into fat more easily. Whether that's true or not, one thing is true- excess energy will be stored in the body as fat. If you're someone who doesn't do much after dinner time, limit your caloric intake to balance that out. There's a saying: For breakfast, eat like a king; for lunch, like a prince; and for dinner, eat like a pauper. For the most part, it's better to eat more calories earlier in the day so your body can have time to use them for energy. Plus, research has shown that carbs can activate the same pleasure centers in the brain as certain drugs, making carbs "addictive." If you suffer from the late-night munchies, aim for something that doesn't leave you craving for more.

The logic- many times, we forget alcohol has calories, kind of like how calories "don't count" on your birthday...or Christmas...or Thanksgiving...or your friend's mom's grandma's birthday...

Yes, this world is a cruel place where you can't ever escape calories. Try to keep the drinking to a minimum so you're not tacking on hundreds of calories to an otherwise healthy day. Drinking excessively also causes dehydration and messes with the blood sugar levels in the body, both of which cause hunger. If you're the type of person who gets the "drunchies" (aka Qdoba at 2 AM) it'd definitely be in your favor to stick to only a couple drinks per night.

The logic- if our main goal is to lose weight, it's easy to become discouraged if we don't see immediate results. Toning up takes time, and even after we see results, it's important to maintain the healthy habits rather than overindulging after we achieve our goal. Health is an ongoing process.

Beyonce:

Her trick- drink plenty of water...with chicken or vegetable broth

The logic- It's Beyonce, she doesn't need logic. For real though, you've heard it before, drinking water makes you feel fuller. To give your water an extra kick, follow Queen B's lead and add a little something.

The logic- once you tell yourself something is off limits, the more appealing it will become. If you tell yourself that you can't have that piece of cake, you'll crave it even more and will most likely overindulge later. Instead, limit the amount that you eat. Aim to eat smaller portions of desserts to be careful not to trump your healthy efforts.

The logic- Omega 3's are a healthy source of fat which can be found in fish, nuts, and eggs, among other foods. These fatty acids decrease the amounts of lipids (fat) in your bloodstream. What could be better? Uhh...Ryan Gosling.